In the renewable energy race, U.S. lags

Despite the fact that U.S. renewable energy production has increased by more than 300 percent in the last 10 years, the country still lags far behind Europe and Indonesia and is only slightly ahead of Mexico, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

NRDC is advocating for countries to adopt policies to increase the percentage of electricity they get from renewable sources to 15 percent by 2020.

According to Jake Schmidt, NRDC's International Climate Policy Director, favorable government policies and strong private-sector investments have increased the availability of renewable energy in the U.S. and elsewhere.

"Unfortunately, the very policies that have increased our renewable energy supplies and reduced our dependence on dirty fossil fuels are now under fire in the United States and elsewhere," Schmidt said. "That's not just a threat to the thousands of new jobs being created by the renewable energy industry, but also a threat to our health, our environment and our planet."

Schmidt urges a global agreement to spur the deployment of renewable energy.